Torino iru Cafe — Attraction in Tokyo

Please don't go here. If you have empathy for the suffering of animals chained in a basement, your heart will only break to see them like this and the images will burn into your memory. Yes, people do far worse things to animals every day. That doesn't make what's happening here right. I went here mostly ignoring animal activist concerns thinking "whatever, people can have owls as pets and it's not a big deal." While that may still be true, this is not one of those places.

My first signal that something was off should have been the fact that this is in a cramped basement. The staff are friendly and seem to treat the animals nicely and clean up after them properly. But don't let these things fool you: the owls are placed in a line on a perch with their legs chained so they can move no more than a few inches. They barely have enough space to stretch their wings, let alone get a reprieve if they're tired. These are also nocturnal birds, so that can't help.

Going into the "parrot room" the birds have a much larger space to fly around freely. Which is fine. They seem mostly fine except for a handful of sick birds. It's crowded in here, but the room is effectively a cage larger than most domestic birds have anyway... except for one Kea parrot in the corner. Until this point I was having a great time, even after seeing the owls, but seeing the Kea was awful. This is one of the most social, smart birds that exists. They are extremely curious and as a result, pretty destructive. They're not suitable as pets.

The Kea's presence in the basement was not the big problem... the problem was that it's in the corner, stuffed into a cage barely large enough for its body -- it certainly cannot stretch its wings fully. The cage is backed into a corner in such a way that it's not clear that the bird is ever let out. As you approach it, the Kea nips at the bars as if begging to be let out. It has no toys or any form of entertainment to stay occupied. All I could think about was the episode of Black Mirror where the woman's consciousness is downloaded into a teddy bear and all she can do to interact with the outside world is say "I need a hug" or "I love you" for all eternity while quietly going insane on the inside.

Let me caveat: there are probably places that are the best of both worlds in terms of animal comfort and giving people the opportunity to interact with them. But this isn't...

If you love birds you have to come here!

I was towards the end of my 2 weeks vacation and missed my little birb back home, then came across this place when trying an alternate route back to the BnB. It's about $15 to enter and you can also purchase extra goodies like seeds and snacks to feed the birds. You'll also get a locker key to lock your bags etc. (Definitely lock up your watches, earrings and accessories, the birds love to nip at these!)There's some birds and a couple cute owls when you first enter, but then you put on one of the Pancho's and enter the actual bird room (You can also purchase shoe covers if you're worried about getting those dirty, they are birds after all!)

Once you enter you'll definitely be greeted by all the birds, prepare your ears for all the chirps and sqwaks! Majority of the birds are super friendly, although the Sun Conures didn't seem to want to bother with any interaction. Some of them are a little nippy, but overall they're very fun to be around. Being able to be around so much different birds is such a treat. And the employees do a great job keeping the place cleaned of all the poop/seed/scraps during the visits. They also help you interact with birds as well! They'll either hand you a bird or drop a macaw right on your lap so you can give it some good ol' scritches on the neck. Some of them are so docile you can just scoop them up or have them step up on your finger! You can tell the employees love and care for the birds alot! I even saw one of them feeding a little baby bird when I was on my way out.

I hope this place doesn't shut down, I had a wonderful time here, and highly recommend for...

I visited this place a couple of days ago and was deeply disappointed by the conditions in which the birds were kept. While the website made it look like a lovely space featuring parrots and cockatoos, the reality was far from it.

The café was cramped and overcrowded, housing a variety of birds, including a trumpeter hornbill, several turacos (one caged), two boat-billed herons (one caged), and a kookaburra (caged), all in inadequate spaces. While there was a water feature, it was tiny and clearly insufficient for the boat-billed herons, which are nocturnal, shy, and require larger water areas to thrive. The noisy and active parrots further added to the stress of these sensitive species.

Additionally, there were numerous raptors, including American kestrels and various species of owls, with their talons tied, leaving them no room to move. I can’t imagine the boredom and stress these birds must endure daily in such unnatural and restrictive conditions.

Each of these species has vastly different needs, but the lack of space, proper care, and enrichment was painfully evident.

If you truly care about birds and their welfare, I strongly advise against visiting this place. It seems more focused on profit than ensuring the well-being of the animals. Instead, I encourage supporting sanctuaries or ethical wildlife centers where birds are provided with proper care and respect for...